I miss you Sam!!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom ..

If you would like to read an incredible tribute to an incredible, awesome Mother, check out Arija's post for Mother's Day. Just click on her name. I've never read anything more amazing and heartrending and beautiful.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Men Are Just Happier People -- What do you expect from such simplecreatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Weddingplans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. Youcan be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a whiteT-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Carmechanics tell you the truth.. The world is your urinal. You neverhave to drive to another gas station restroom because this one isjust too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff abouttanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can openall your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act ofthoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can stillbe your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. Youare unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your facestays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybedecades. You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes-- one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how yourlegs look. You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You havefreedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

This is for all the women who can handle it and to the men who will enjoy reading it.

“Amazing what happens when you cast aside the testosterone”, was the first line of Roger Cohen’s Op-Ed column in the NYT on Monday and I couldn’t agree more.

The masters of the testosterone movement over the past eight years – specifically “porcupine, prickly” Cheney and numerous other Republicans perceive “a weak president”, but according to Cohen, the truth is that foes of the United States have been disarmed by Barack Obama’s no-drama diplomacy. He calls it the mellow doctrine – neither idealistic nor classic realpolitik, it involves finding strength through unconventional means, such as the acknowledgment of the limits of American power; frankness about U.S. failings; careful listening; fear reduction; adroit deployment of the wide appeal of brand Barack Obama; and jujitsu engagement.

Even though more time is needed to see its results, the “mellow doctrine has already brought some remarkable shifts.

The Castro brothers in Cuba are squabbling over the meaning of Obama’s overtures. Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has gone gooey-eyed over the Yanqui president. Turkey relented on a major NATO dispute, persuaded of the importance of Obama’s conciliatory message to Muslims.

From Damascus to Tehran, new debate rages over possible rapprochement with Washington. In Israel, it appears the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is about to drag his Likud party kicking and screaming to acceptance of the idea of a two-state solution because he knows the cost of an early confrontation with Obama.

Not bad for 105 days.

As Cohen says, the fact is the United States spent most of the eight years before last January making things easy for its enemies. It was in the ammunition-supply business.

Nothing comforted U.S. foes as much as Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, axis-of-evil moral certitude and the schoolyard politics of punishment. All you had to do, from Moscow to Caracas, was point a finger toward the White House and domestic woes paled. All you had to do, in the recruitment schools of Waziristan and Ramadi, was show video footage of Americans humiliating Muslims. Even among allies, nobody much wanted to help the former administration.

Of course, Fidel Castro is talking about “definite failure” for Obama and lambasting him for preserving a “blockade” (it’s in fact an outmoded partial trade embargo), while his brother Raul says Cuba’s ready and eager to discuss everything.

Obama and his administration still have a long way to go and it won’t be easy. And the likes of the aging Fidel will try to resist the mellow doctrine. But it will succeed if America’s foes understand that normal relations with Washington do not imply the loss of distinctive cultures and politics or the imposition of U.S. values, but rather the “mutual respect” which Obama has promised Iran.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Old friends of mine from Portland came to Seattle and we spent the day together. It was a magnificent day -- we went to Snoqualmi Falls. Everytime I have an opportunity to visit one of the incredibly beautiful places here in the northwest I am reminded all over again of the magic in nature and in the beauty that is all around. It takes my breath away! I share some that beauty with you tonight along with some other people's words about nature and beauty.

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.Frank Lloyd Wright

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.Rachel Carson

It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.Rachel Carson

Time again to share your world! That's My World is hosted every Tuesday by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise. Click here to sign up join the fun and show us what you love about your world!

The Snake River and Hell's Canyon can be found in Washington and Oregon, but also Idaho. They "snake" their way through a lot of the northwest.

The name "Snake" possibly derived from an S-shaped (snake) sign which the Shoshone Indians made with their hands to mimic swimming salmon.Variant names of the river have included: Great Snake River, Lewis Fork, Lewis River, Mad River, Saptin River, Shoshone River, and Yam-pah-pa.Early inhabitants

People have been living along the Snake River for at least 11,000 years.

The HELLS CANYON area was once home to the NEZ PERCE and the SHOSHONE tribes. There is still evidence today of the people of long ago all along the rivers edge.

Today boaters can explore the canyon's many archaeological sites and old homesteads.

The SNAKE RIVER is said to have gotten it's name from the first white explorers who misinterpreted the Shoshone people who identified themselves in sign language by moving their hands in a snake-like motion...But instead of referring to a snake, they were saying that they lived near the river.

Other cultures of the Snake River's basin's protohistoric and historic periods include the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Walla Walla, Palus, Bannock, and many others.

Exploration

The Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806 was the first major U.S. exploration of the lower portion of the Snake River, and the Snake was once known as the Lewis River. Later American exploratory expeditions, which explored much of the length of the Snake River, included the Astor Expedition of 1810-1812, John C. Frémont in 1832, and Benjamin Bonneville in 1833-1834. The British North West Company and, after 1821, Hudson's Bay Company sent large trapping and trading expeditions to the upper Snake River and its tributaries. These annual expeditions began in 1817 and continued for about 30 years. They ranged widely throughout today's southern Idaho, western Wyoming, and northern Utah, in the process exploring the region. Many of the rivers and mountains have French names, reflecting the employment of French-Canadian voyageur by the British companies. The policy of the Hudson's Bay Company's was to deplete the region of fur bearing animals as quickly as possible, so as to make it impossible for American traders to operate there. This goal was largely successful. American traders could not compete in the Snake River country. In contrast, the Hudson's Bay Company found the Snake River expeditions very profitable.

By the middle 19th century, the Oregon Trail had been established, generally following much of the Snake River.

The Snake River has become a favorite place for white water rafting as well as scenic canoe trips. Hell's Canyon is the deepest canyon in the US.

What Can I Say?

I'm interested in almost everything. Use to like to travel, but it's too expensive now. I take Tai Chi classes, swim, volunteer in a Jump-start program for pre-schoolers. I'm an avid reader and like nearly everyone these days I follow politics avidly. I'm a former teacher and Special Projects Coordinator for a Telecommunications company, Assistant to the President of a Japanese silicon wafer manufacturing company. Am now enjoying retirement -- most of the time. I have two daughters, one son-in-law and two sons scattered all over the country. No grandchildren.

Stop Hate Starting Here

I Never Saw Another Butterfly

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellowPerhaps if the sun’s tears would singagainst a white stone....

Such, such a yellowIs carried lightly ’way up high.It went away I’m sure because it wished to kiss the world good-bye.

For seven weeks I’ve lived in herePenned up inside this ghetto.But I have found what I love here.The dandelions call to meAnd the white chestnut branches in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly. That butterfly was the last one.Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.

Written by Pavel Friedman, June 4, 1942 Born in Prague on Jan. 7, 1921.Deported to the Terezin Concentration Camp on April 26, 1942. Died in Aushchwitzon Sept. 29, 1944.

Thank You, Anthony!!

Check out his blog and photos!

Chasing Ashes

I love to write and it has been a hobby for a long time. Mysteries were always my escape reading during some of the darker times of my life and I finally decided to give it a try. I've actually written seven over the years. Unfortunately, my last computer disaster resulted in my losing three of the latest four. I did manage to salvage this one.